Alexandra Dariescu

Bio

Alexandra Dariescu, creator of “The Nutcracker and I”, is a pianist for the 21st century, standing out as an original voice whose fundamental values are shining a light on gender equality in both her concerto and recital programmes, championing and premiering lesser-known works. In demand as a soloist worldwide, she has performed with eminent orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Oslo Philharmonic and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, whilst the list of conductors she has worked with includes Adam Fischer, Cristian Măcelaru, Fabien Gabel, Jun Märkl, Vasily Petrenko, Ryan Bancroft, James Gaffigan, Jonathon Heyward, JoAnn Falletta and Michael Francis.   

Besides her much-anticipated debut with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for Ravel’s piano concerto in G major, in 2023/24 Dariescu opens the season for the BBC Symphony Orchestra with Sakari Oramo at the Barbican Centre. A regular guest of the George Enescu International Festival , she returns along with pianist Jean Efflam Bavouzet and the Manchester Camerata for Mozart’s double concerto. In the USA she debuts with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, followed by her return to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for the world premiere of James Lee III’s new piano concerto ‘Shades of Unbroken Dreams’, in honour of the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a Dream” speech. The concerto, written for Dariescu, is a co-commission along with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom Alexandra gives the piece’s UK premiere under the baton of John Storgårds. Further highlights include her return to the Houston Symphony with Fabien Gabel and debuts with the Copenhagen Philharmonic, Trondheim and Wuppertal Symphony orchestras. This season marks the 7th year of her successful piano recital production “The Nutcracker and I”, an original ground-breaking multimedia performance for piano solo with dance and digital animation, with presentations taking place in several cities across the UK, Germany and China. 

Dariescu has released eight albums to critical acclaim, the latest disc being her Decca recording with Angela Gheorghiu. The discography includes a Trilogy of Preludes series on Champs Hill Records, as well as Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Darrell Ang (Signum Records), in addition to “The Nutcracker and I” audio book. 

Dariescu has been mentored by Sir András Schiff and Dame Imogen Cooper. A Laureate at the Verbier Festival Academy, she received the UK’s Women of the Future Award in the Arts and Culture category. In 2017, Dariescu was appointed patron of Music in Lyddington and Cultural Ambassador of Romania. In spring 2018, Dariescu received the ‘Officer of the Romanian Crown’ from the Royal Family and was selected as a Young European Leader by Friends of Europe. In 2020, Dariescu received the Order 'Cultural Merit' in the rank of Knight by the Romanian President and became an Associated Member of the RNCM.